That Ionarts should be described as "a blog that represents the ideal to which mine should aspire" is humbling. Grazie mille!

UPDATE:
A lot of you are coming from Spanish-language Elastico.net, where Antonio Córdoba was convinced by the same Poppea post to give Monteverdi another try. Muchas gracias!

Ionarts also received what is, I think, our first Internet award, a DUESENhome Blogger-Award 2004 (by my reckoning, no. 51 out of 100), in a group of blogs with specialized themes. Well, it may not be the Bloggies, but we appreciate it anyway! Vielen Dank, Roland!